Sunday, February 9, 2014

Sunday Sitdown with the Explosive Boom!

“Then
things go Boom!”

Hello
Exiles and Dominion of the planet Nexus and beyond! My name is
Zilvis. This is my end of the week community spotlight that I’ll be
doing each and every week to delve a little more into who a certain
member of the WildStar community is, learn the what and why of their
choice to migrate to Nexus, and maybe some surprises along the way.
The way I looked at it we're all community bound like brothers and
sisters in this game of WildStar. Why not get to know someone a bit
better? Once again welcome, sit back, and prepare to meet this week's
community member, Boom. Welcome to Sunday Sit down.

I’ll
let you write a little introduction. If
you have other monikers some may know you by, feel free to throw them
out there. Mainly just tell where people can find you online
and any background you'd like to share we might not know.

Hi
ya'll! You all will likely know me as Boom on the interwebs, name's
Lauren. The moniker just stuck with me game after game but began with
Rift with my hammer swingin' cleric. (I also had a rogue named Jab
and a mage named Zing. Seeing the trend? ;)

I
can usually be found in TeamSpeak with my guildos (Subterfuge
Vanguard, aka SVG) OR you can find me on Twitter as @boombw. Puns are
probable, you've been warned.

Question
1:As this is a WildStar themed project, we'll get those underway
first. As most of us at one time or another have asked ourselves,
what is WildStar?

A
fantastic upcoming MMO by Carbine Studios that I can't wait to get my
hands on. Nexus itself could very well be considered a wild star. I
mean, have you SEEN the Chua and Aurin? C'mon.

Question
2: What is one thing in the game your most hoping to be perfectly
done, whether because it's needed or just something for your
experience specifically?

Guild
systems, hands down. I was a co-leader in a 450+ person guild for GW2
and the tools were atrocious. We, luckily, had a lot of great and
helpful people that lent their talents and skills (like automated
screenscraping and spreadsheet updates) that made it a little easier.
Not to mention I primarily play MMOs to spend time with my friends
and those tools directly impact the community a player may find
themselves a part of.

Secondly?
PvP. Bardic's a brilliant one, so I'm just looking forward to seeing
what she's got up her sleeve at this point.

Question
3: I did a blog post discussing maybe why someone might pick one race
over another in WildStar. What race do you think you identify with
and why, even if it won't necessarily be your main?

This
is a tough one. I'll be rolling Cassian on launch, the posh, prissy
little twits they are just make it a direct contradiction to who I
am. I'm not an elitist player, nor do I have the kind of skill in
order to be. Prone to dirt naps, puns and near ADD progression
through leveling because of gathering, perhaps the Chua and their
spontaneous combustion may be more fitting. ;)

On
an unrelated note, Kit is actually what caught and hooked me
especially at PAX East. With her twang and general darling derp, I
had to check it out.

Question
4: I'm sure everyone has their WildStar moment, as I call it, that
quintessential thing that cinched in your decision on the game.

The
cross between sci-fi and animation in the art style first caught my
eye but moreover, it really was the dev team that locked me down. I
had signed up for beta almost a year or more prior to PAX East. While
I was there, I stumbled across Scooter and recognized him but for the
life of me couldn't remember where I'd met him before. Turns out, PAX
East the year prior. After hovering at the booth for multiple demos,
picking the brains of the team and discovering they were a riot (and
that sense of humor was reflected in the game) I was done for.

Question
5: What aspect of WildStar are you most excited about and feel you'll
spend the most time on such as Questing-Housing-PVP?

Ooo,
it'll definitely be either in putzing about on my Housing plot or in
PVP. Especially WarPlots!

Question
6: Out of everyone from Carbine that you've interacted with, who has
surprised you the most for one thing or another by what you have seen
that they have said or done so far?

Oh
wow. This one's tough. I have a lot of love for so many people on the
team it's hard to pick just one. If I had to say the one thing that
defines this team over others is the fact they aren't behind closed
doors; they're human and moreover, active participants in the
community no matter the role they play in developing the game.
Accessible and readily so with a sense of humor they make no
apologies for or the ambitions they have, it's just incredibly
refreshing. They've certainly spoiled me for any future dev team and
have set the bar impossibly high.

Question
7: If you were given the power to either alter the game in some way
or add something to it that has not been mentioned or rumored, what
would it be and why?

Mmmmprobably
the cap on WarPlots, though I can certainly appreciate the limitation
to provide more specialized, challenging play. World versus World
versus World was one of my favorite things about GW2 and I'd have
loved to see that again. However, there's nothing stopping the
spontaneous organization of open world PvP. ;)

Question
8: What is the one thing you want Carbine on a personal level or
business level to know that you yourself have enjoyed from them?

Their
humanity and sense of humor. Do I sound like a broken record yet?
Shout out to the Turntable crew (rest in peace). Alternatively, their
patience with my dubbing the team members with ridiculous nicknames.
I wish I could blame the open bar but it was all me.

OK,
that's it for the cross section on WildStar Q's. Next is a few Q's to
get to know Boom a bit better besides her amazing exploits across
Nexus!

Question
9: Boom Boom, Your always lively and a form of the voice of the
party,(which is totally cool) has this always been a thing?

Haha!
I've definitely always been a talker. People are my thing, I can
appreciate a quiet night but socializing is my lifeblood. My B.A. is
in Communication Studies, which I'm sure will come as a surprise.

Question
10: How long have you been gaming and what are your top 3 moments
you'd say you remember in your own personal gaming history?

Oh
wow, since I was little bitty. As far as PC? My Dad got me started
with DOS, Lemmings and Police Quest are what I played. He let me
watch while he played Wolfenstein. It was one of the ways we'd spend
time together. I'm horrible at shooters to this day but I'd be the
eyes and memory while he took care of the pew pews.

Consoles
were always a thing in the household as well, Duck Hunt, Tetris,
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Aladdin.. I may have had to have Dad or
my babysitter beat a few levels here and there but it was a blast.3
moments? Hm. Rift was my first official MMO - never got into PvP much
until SWTOR but it was also my first time as leadership in a guild
and as a raid co-lead, to boot. We had a blast.Second?
Finally beating Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Such sweet
satisfaction.Third?
A friend insisted we roll on a PVP-RP server for SWTOR and I have
never been the same, I was insta-hooked on PvP whether in Alderaan or
open world, stealthing and snagging unsuspecting players off their
speeders.

Question
11: Besides Gaming and Music do you have any other interests or
hobbies you find fun?

Absolutely.
Photography and writing are two of them, and season permitting,
snowboarding!

Question
12: If there was one place in the world you could live where would it
be and why?

Domestic
or International? ;)It'd
have to be somewhere along the Amalfi Coast in Italy, or perhaps
Australia though I'm not 100% - I'll let you know once I check it
out. Hehe.

Question
13: Are there any hidden talents or trade skills you'd like to share?
Is there something new you'd like to learn?

I
used to be fluent in Italian. As one might expect, I don't have a lot
of opportunities in Texas to practice it. It's why I'm loving
Duolingo (and the ongoing group challenge we've got!)

I'd
love to be more crafty than I am but scrapbooking is about as far as
I've gotten in that respect.

Question
14: Simple one now I promise. Do you have any pets? If you could have
any real or made up pet, what would it be?

I
have a single cat, Chloe. And a made up one? Maybe something akin to
a wolf tiger.. cross with the personality of a mutt. Random, I know.

Question
15: Finally, If there were one person living or dead, real or fake
that you could sit down and have a long discussion with, who would it
be and why?

Another
toughie! I honestly am not sure. Ghandi might seem an obvious choice,
I'd love just to pick his brain for the simple fact of his stance and
perspective. Even Martin Luther King, Jr. for obvious reasons. I
can't imagine the amount of bold bravery it'd have taken for him and
furthermore, to persist in the face of mass majority resistance. In
the same vein, he and Lincoln in the same room would be an
interesting conference!

Alrighty
Boom I hope that wasn't too painful for you. I appreciate you being a
guest for the Sunday Sit down. Now, I’ll let you have free reign.
If there's anything else not asked here that you'd like to get out
there that you think would be interesting for us to know, feel free
to share. Things like plugs for your twitter or anything, and of
course feel free to give shout outs of any kind!

There
may or may not be an upcoming blog authored by yours truly but more
on that will be forthcoming. Follow @boomw on Twitter for more
updates and persisting silliness. ;)

That's
it Folks. Everything you'd want to know about Boom and hopefully
more! I thank her again for putting up with me as well as you the
reader. Each and every week we will have a new and fascinating
community member to learn about and see what really does make the
WildStar community tick inside and out. Feel free to contact me
anytime on twitter @zilvis78, comment below, or if you bump into me
on the interwebs say hi!